Have you ever read about Martha in the Bible? I can relate to Martha in so many ways. If I’m totally honest, I am Martha! Maybe you are, too.
I love reading about Martha and her siblings, Mary and Lazarus! What an incredible “real life” story we have available to us from the books of Luke and John. One of the things I love most that this family was known for is that they were close personal friends of Jesus. He seemed to enjoy spending time with them in their home. Martha hosted Jesus and the disciples on more than one occasion.
So, like any good “Martha” would do when you know that company is coming, you want to make sure the house is clean and smells good and is welcoming. You want to prepare your best meal. You want to make sure to serve that dessert you are famous for! The coffee is always ready and there are several delicious creamers to choose from….am I right? Are you starting to see yourself in this picture at all?
While there was really nothing wrong with Martha preparing the meal that would be served and making sure her home would be comfortable and welcoming for her guests, she chose to remain busy and in so doing, missed the best part! She forgot to sit and enjoy the presence of her guest. Her dear friend Jesus was in the family room!
Martha even felt comfortable walking into the room and complaining to Jesus about her sister Mary! (That part is a little amusing, actually.) She needed help in the kitchen and she was hoping to get Jesus to see things her way - maybe even reprimanding Mary for not helping to prepare and serve the meal. But, that’s not at all what Jesus did. Instead In Luke chapter 10 we read what Jesus did say to her...
“Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.’”
Luke 10:38-42
In other words, a simple meal would have been fine. There was no need to go to all that extra effort, right? She was so worried about the serving and the perfecting that Martha took her eyes off of her Savior. In the busyness of “doing,” she lost her peace.
I have to admit that this is me on so many occasions! Maybe you love to entertain, have people over for dinner, or just invite a friend for coffee. Maybe you go a tad bit overboard when you know someone is coming to stay for a few days, driving everyone around you crazy while you’re striving for perfection. You see, Mary chose the “good portion.” She didn’t want to miss anything that Jesus had to say while He was in their home.
But before we are too harsh on Martha, I think it’s important that we notice something else about her in John, chapter 11:
“Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany; the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying, ‘Lord, he whom you love is ill.’ But when Jesus heard it he said, ‘This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.’ Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.” …….
Next, we see an amazing statement of faith from Martha...not Mary!
“Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha said to him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, although he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?’ She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.’”
Notice that when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she got up and went out to meet Him! Mary, on the other hand, remained in the house in grief. Can’t you just sense Martha’s boldness in this text? “Lord, if you had been here …”
We often overlook Martha’s faith in the statements she made. She firmly believed that had Jesus been there, her brother would not have died! And yet, in verse 22 note that her faith is still very much alive. “But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you” I love that...an “even now” bold faith. Martha believed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God who had come into the world! Martha’s faith was rewarded that very day as her brother Lazarus was miraculously resurrected from the dead.
Mary chose to sit at the feet of Jesus, to listen, and to just lovingly be in His presence. She chose to worship Him. But, I like to think that Martha learned a valuable lesson from her sister and her dear friend Jesus on the day of her service in Luke Chapter 10, too! I believe she learned the balancing of her acts of service with her worship.
Why do I believe that? When all seemed lost, we see that Martha trusted her Lord! And she understood who He was. I especially love the way the Passion Translation phrases it in the Book of John.
“Then Martha replied, “Yes, Lord, I do! I’ve always believed that you are the Anointed One, the Son of God who has come into the world for us!”
Finally, in John 12, we see Martha serving...the right way.
“Six days before the Passover began, Jesus went back to Bethany, the town where he raised Lazarus from the dead. They had prepared a supper for Jesus. Martha served, and Lazarus and Mary were among those at the table. Mary picked up an alabaster jar filled with nearly a liter of extremely rare and costly perfume—the purest extract of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet. Then she wiped them dry with her long hair. And the fragrance of the costly oil filled the house.”
Again, Mary was at the feet of Jesus. Martha was serving. But, this time Martha is not complaining or demanding help - she is simply serving her dear friend Jesus! Isn’t it so true when our attitude changes for the better, the very atmosphere around us changes? Martha is such a powerful life lesson. May we too always remember the crucial “balance” of service and worship to our Savior Jesus, The Christ, The Anointed One, The Son of God!
